The present invention relates generally to cotton harvesters and more specifically to a picking unit support arrangement for a cotton harvester.
On a typical cotton picker, each of the picking units is supported from the harvester main frame through a main attaching point toward the rear of a unit. A stabilizing member attaches either at the lower rear of the unit or at the top front of the unit. The attaching points are designed to allow minor lateral movement, usually no more than approximately three inches, for row width adjustment. To adjust for row width, bolts or pins must be removed and the units must be slid transversely on the support structure. Sliding the units is difficult and requires the use of a pry bar or a built-in adjusting mechanism. With some arrangements, the units must be shimmed to maintain levelness after adjusting for row width. As a result, the lateral adjustment of the row units is inconvenient and difficult and is usually avoided when possible. Heretofore, it has not been practical to move the individual row units transversely to provide added clearance for inspecting and servicing the row units. In any event, the lateral range of adjustment is usually inadequate to provide sufficient space for good access to the row units even if one were to adjust the units during servicing. This lack of space and adjustability of the units is particularly critical in narrow row cotton pickers adapted for harvesting cotton planted in rows spaced as narrowly as thirty inches. Present cotton pickers are not readily adaptable for converting between narrow row and wider row configurations